In the past various devices have been proposed to protect both golf tees and clubs from damage when striking a golf ball on a tee and from preventing the tee from breaking off from the impact of being struck with a golf club.
One proposed solution to this problem was to provide golf tees which have flexible portions to permit them to bend when struck with the club. Typical examples of such tees are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,440,473 issued to J W Hughs and U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,431 issued to C Guenther.
Another device proposed for use with golf tees is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,689 issued to K P Lettrich which shows a tubular member with a flat ground engaging plate which when placed on a golf tee determines the depth the tee is inserted into the ground and therefore establishes the height of the tee head and the golf ball above the ground. This is a tee positioning device rather than a protective device.
A protective shroud for golf tees is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,344 issued to R J Ball. This device is a unitary structure of resilient material to protect the tee and golf club from damage due to impact of the club against the tee. This device is flared at each end and may be made in assorted lengths depending upon the depth on desires to insert the tee.
It has been found, however, that it is advantageous to have a golf tee protector that is durable and will withstand the high impact of being struck by a golf club. While a soft cushioning member may protect the tee for a certain number of strokes, a harder protective cover outside of a cushioning member has been found to better withstand the impact of the golf club as well as providing greater stability to the tee when inserted in the ground.